A/N: Sorry for the delay everyone but here is chapter 7, I really struggled with writing this one I think I have about four drafts saved on my hard drive. And even after all that i'm still not super happy with it, but hopefully it helps set the foundation for the relationship between Harry and Ginny, it was really important for me to show how important Ginny is becoming to Harry. Something to keep in mind this is where my story will begin to become more AU, most of the main plot points will hold true but there will be some changes and a few twists. A quick shout out to my Beta GinnyPotter6891 for all her hard work and who just posted her first story Just the Mother of His Children an amazingly well written and original story well worth a read. Now that i'm getting more reviews i'll be answering questions in a Authors Note at the end, speaking of which thank you all for all the reviews, follows and favorites!

Chapter 7

Harry was abruptly awoken by someone shaking him and calling his name. He jolted up and scrambled across the bed away from the unknown threat. The pain from his back and ribs caused him to gasp in pain from the motion, but this helped chase the sleep and confusion from his brain. As his breathing slowed, a hand slowly extended toward him, holding his glasses out to him. Harry cautiously reached out and took them from the unknown man. Once he had put them on and could see clearly again, realization came over him, quickly followed by extreme embarrassment and shame. Mr. Weasley was seated on the edge of the bed, his face full of concern while Mrs. Weasley stood behind her husband and looked down at Harry with a heartbroken expression. Worst of all were the shocked looks on all of the Weasley children's faces as they looked in from the hallway. Harry quickly looked down at his lap and profusely apologized for having woken them up and been such a burden. He heard a gasp and was quickly engulfed in a hug from Mrs. Weasley, Harry tensed at her touch but soon found the gesture comforting. She told him that he wasn't a burden and that he had nothing to apologize for; after a few moments of ensuring he was ok,she reluctantly had pulled away. The rest of the family drifted out of his room with many more concerned looks thrown his way. Harry refused to talk or even look up from his lap until he heard all of them close the door to his room. He sat there for awhile longer and stared at his lap while he scolded himself for not casting the silencing charm that Professor McGonagall had taught him early in his first term.

He knew the Ministry tracked underage magic but also knew an occasional small spell or charm would go unnoticed in a house full of adults using magic. After a few more moments he pushed all his fears and emotions of the Dursleys down into a deep dark corner of his mind he felt a little better. He got up and retrieved his wand quietly from his trunk and silently cast the silencing charm on the room. He sighed with relief. He knew no one would hear his next nightmare. The thought of another nightmare caused a shiver to run down his spine. He knew he wouldn't be going back to sleep tonight.

As quietly as he could he made his way downstairs, got himself a glass of water, and made his way to the small study Ginny had shown him yesterday on the quick tour of the house. He found an old copy of "The Book of Spells: Year Two" on the book shelf. In an effort to calm himself he retreated into the safety of the book, curled up in one of the worn but comfortable chairs, and began reading. Harry wasn't sure how long he sat in the cozy little study reading about the spells he would be learning in his upcoming year, but a noise at the door to the study made him jump a little.

"Well, good morning, Harry." Mr. Weasley called softly from the door surprised to see the boy awake at this hour.

"Good morning, sir. I-I hope you didn't mind, but I remembered you said I was welcome to use the library, so I, erm, did," Harry responded, trying to ensure that he wasn't in trouble for being out of bed.

"I don't mind at all – you're welcome in here any time. I was just surprised to see anyone else up at this hour is all." After a small pause he continued. "Would you like to join me for a light breakfast before I head out to the Ministry?"

Harry nodded and slowly followed the man into the kitchen. Mr. Weasley turned to the boy once they had entered the kitchen and in a conspiratorial tone asked if Harry would like to know one of his guilty pleasures. Intrigued, Harry nodded.

The older man leaned in closer and continued conspiratorially. "I really love a good cup of coffee in the morning with breakfast. I know, quite the shock, eh?"

Harry smiled at the man's slightly dramatic revelation. Mr. Weasley bustled around the kitchen preparing the drink and grabbing a couple pastries for the two of them while explained how he fell in love with the drink on a ministry trip to France.

"I recommend two scoops of sugar and a bit of milk at first - you can change the mixture as you like, if you like it all." He added the last part as an afterthought as he sat down across from Harry.

"I think I rather like it." Harry stated after a couple of tentative sips at the new drink.

"Ahh, a fellow man of discerning tastes, I see." Arthur beamed a smile at the boy. "I'm glad there is one more of us in the house who appreciates a good thing my boy."

"Who else drinks the coffee?" he asked intrigued.

Arthur let out a small laugh "Well, much to her mother's disapproval, Ginny also enjoys it. I always leave a cup on the counter for her with a warming charm on it. Don't tell her I told you, but she is awful at making the stuff."

Harry laughed a little at this knowledge. He enjoyed finding out more about the girl who had at some point in the last year invaded most of his thoughts. The two sat in comfortable silence while they sipped their coffee and ate the pastries. Mrs. Weasley came down shortly after. She made herself a cup of tea and joined them in their quite breakfast. After Arthur had left for the Ministry Mrs. Weasley started making breakfast for the rest of the family. She politely refused Harry's offer to help so he brought his book into the kitchen table and continued to read. Not long later they heard movement upstairs, quiet and cautious at first but suddenly replaced by quick steps down the stairs.

"Mum, have you seen Harry? He's not in his room or the bathroom and it's time for his next set of potions." Ginny called before she was even down the last flight of steps, worry bordering on panic evident in her voice.

"Oh." She sighed as she finally saw Harry sitting at the table, her cheeks blushing a soft pink. She recovered quickly, though.

"Well, anyway, here, Harry, here's your morning dose. But don't take it yet. It would be better if you ate a little first – taking potions on an empty stomach is no fun, trust me." She hurried into the kitchen and grabbed a little of the food that her mum was finishing up and placed it on a plate for him.

Harry sat stunned into silence and watched her with a small smile on his face. She was so sweet, and she seemed to be genuinely concerned for him. Once again he found that same unusual warmth spreading in his chest that only she seemed to cause. She sat the plate down in front of him with a suddenly shy smile.

"Oh, erm, what would you like to drink?" she asked and nervously bit her lip.

Harry was dazzled by how cute she was at the moment. Her big soft brown eyes seemed to draw him in while the dawn light was reflecting off the wisps of hair that had escaped her messy ponytail seemed to surround her in a glow. And the way she was suddenly nervously bit her lip was just beautiful.

"D-Don't worry I can get a glass of water myself, thanks though Ginny." He managed nearly stuttering.

"Don't worry I'm already up." She had turned around and already filled a glass for him before he had a chance to protest.

"See, no problem." she said, her confident smile back. But it was soon replaced by another blush when her stomach rumbled hungrily. The rest of breakfast was a nice quiet affair with just the right amount of small talk and comfortable silence.

"So what are you planning on doing today, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked as they were finished and she banished their plates to the sink.

"Erm, well, I'm not sure. Since I'm supposed to take it easy for the next two weeks, I was thinking about reading the text books for next year. I found a set in the study I thought I'd use until I can get my own from Diagon Alley."

The older witch looked at him with mild surprise evident on her face, but Ginny was looking at him with a different look on her face and a small smile playing on her lips. "You're going to read the entire text books for the next year before school even starts?" Mrs Weasley queried with a touch of surprise coloring her voice.

"As long as you don't mind me borrowing the texts, it's just being raised in the Muggle world there is so much about magic that I don't know. So any little bit of knowledge that I can get I try and take advantage of. Plus I think it makes school work quite a bit easier as I already have a basic understanding of what the professors are covering so it's more of a review than brand new material. For the more confusing topics that the reading does not explain well, I just make a note and wait until class covers them so I don't confuse myself beforehand." Harry had become quite embarrassed that he had revealed so much, that by the end of his rambling he was looking down at the table and blushing brightly.

Ginny placed a hand gently on his arm. "I think that's quite brilliant Harry."

"Of course, you can, dear. Please make yourself at home here, Harry," she said kindly.

"T-Thanks Mrs. Weasley." Harry blushed again.

"Ginny, why don't you show him how the study is organized while I get the rest of breakfast made up for your brothers?"

"Ok, mum. Come on, Harry." She offered him her hand to help him up and walked to the study. Harry wasn't sure if she realized she never let go of his hand. But he was very happy that she hadn't so he wasn't going to say anything.

Ginny explained how the small library was laid out, one of the bookshelves being devoted to textbooks, each year had its own shelf. Some of the books looked well used and the first year books looked nearly ruined. Harry had noticed Ron was quite rough with his books and while he didn't worship them the way Hermione did, he had never had anything of his own so he took very good care of his. While looking at old text books Harry was reminded of how little the Weasleys had in the way of money, but rather than pity them or think less of them he smiled to himself. What they lacked in money and material goods they more than made of for with love and caring for each other, and to Harry that was worth more than all the gold in Gringotts. He managed to pull himself out of his thoughts in time to hear the rest of her explanation of the layout of the rest of their small library.

"Thanks. It's so nice to have such a nice library and cozy place to read. It sure beats the loud Leaky Cauldron or overbearing quietness of the Hogwarts library," he said as he made his way back over to the chair that he had been sitting in early this morning, regretfully letting go of her hand.

"It's not much, but I agree – I really like sitting in here and relaxing with a good book." She went over to the first year shelf and pulled out "The Standard Book of Spells: Year One" and sat down at the old desk. She let out a sad sigh as she opened the book and the cover nearly came off.

"What in the name of Merlin did he do to these books?" she muttered angrily to herself.

While Harry got comfy in his chair and opened his book, he heard a thunder of noise as the twins and Ron finally smelled the breakfast and came running down the stairs. A little while later Harry was making good progress in his book when he heard a small cry of indignation from Ginny.

"MUM!"

Her mother popped her head in a moment later.

"What's wrong, dear?"

"What's wrong is your youngest son has ruined all of his books! I thought Harry's idea was a good one so I thought I'd join him. But what am I supposed to do with this!" She lifted up her book, the cover nearly falling off and some pages falling out onto the desk, many of them wrinkled or tore.

Mrs. Weasley looked at her sadly, "Accio Spell-O-Tape." She waved her wand and a roll of Spell-O-Tape flew to her hand. "I'm sorry, dear. Try to do your best to fix what you can. We'll see if we can replace the worst ones after we have gotten the rest of the school supplies this year. I'm really sorry, dear." A look of defeat and sadness was on her face.

"It's ok, mum and I'm sorry I yelled. I just wasn't expecting them to be this bad," Ginny responded with another sad sigh, took the roll of tape and got to work as her mum left.

"RONALD WEASLEY! What on earth did you do to your books last year? You will be de-gnoming the garden and cleaning out the chicken coop for the next two weeks do you hear me!" Harry had never expected such ferocity from the sweet lady and flinched at the sound of her voice.

Ginny noticed his flinch and looked over at him with worry in her eyes. "It's ok, Harry, she's not going to hurt him or anything. But he really messed up this time. I-It's going to be . . . tough on Mum and Dad this year. With so many of us at school at once it's a lot of supplies to buy." She finished with an embarrassed blush at letting him know how much they would be struggling this year.

"Don't be embarrassed, Gin. I never had anything new until I went to Hogwarts – you should've seen the clothes I had to wear! They were, and I'm not kidding here, 5 sizes too big for me." An idea came to Harry. "Hey, Ginny, can you come upstairs and help me with something for a minute?"

She looked at him quizzically "Sure."

He made his way up to her room with her following behind him. He tried his best to not let the stairs affect him, but they did. Thankfully, Ginny didn't comment. He dug through his trunk and pulled out his books from his first year. After he was finished he had a stack of all the required textbooks on one side and three others on his other side. The rest of his books he placed back into his trunk. As he was finishing returning the other books to his trunk he knocked over a small wood box he'd ask Hagrid to make him towards the end of the year. Harry used it to keep all of his most valuable things which at this point consisted of all of his letters from Ginny and a framed picture of his parents on their wedding day that Professor McGonagall had given him shortly before he left Hogwarts.

The letters went spilling on the floor and his face flamed brightly. He was embarrassed to have Ginny see how he'd kept them all. Her faced flushed slightly pink as she helped him gather the letters as she realized that they were all from her and how carefully he'd opened them, almost like they were precious to him. Her breath hitched and eyes got a little misty as she picked up the most recent few ones she'd wrote him while he was at the Dursley's. They weren't opened as carefully and looked surprisingly worn. She could see red stains on parts of them and what looked like red fingerprints; she knew what it meant. He had re-read these letters many times most likely after his lashings and beatings. Ginny was a smart girl. She could piece together what that signified: he'd used her letters to cope to get through what was most likely the dakest time in his life.

"Harry…" She began softly fingering the most worn envelope that had more than a few red spots on it. She looked up into his eyes and saw such panic and shame it nearly broke her heart.

"I-I'm sorry Gin," he began, but she softly cut him off.

"Don't be, Harry, but why?" A searching look was in her misty eyes.

Harry sighed and leaned against the bed, pulled his legs in to himself and closed his eyes. His voice was nearly a whisper. "I got your letters from that house elf and after what-what happened with my uncle,I kept re-reading your letters. So many times in the couple days after I thought about giving up while I laid there. But your letters gave me something else to focus on – they gave me hope and a reason to keep fighting, a reason to wake up."

Ginny was shocked. She figured it was something like that but to hear him say it and to realize how much she meant to him made her heart swell and the warmth in her chest grow even more. Slowly and carefully she sat beside him, put a arm around him, and pulled him into a comforting hug. She barely noticed that for once when he was receiving a hug he didn't flinch away. They stayed like that for a while, her comforting him in a way no one else could, before a noise downstairs brought them back to the moment. They put the letters back into the box without another word about them. There was nothing left to say and a new level of understanding was brought to the two of them. Once the box was returned and his trunk closed he cleared his throat and returned to the reason they were up here in the first place.

"As long as you don't mind dealing with the notes I wrote in the margins, you can use these next year if you want. I'm not sure what book the new DADA will require but I put the one we used last year in here anyway." He gestured to the smaller stack. "These are some other books I picked up while I was staying at the Leaky Cauldron last year that might be some help to you as well. If you want you can use them, too."

Ginny's eyes teared up again; even though she wasn't usually one to tear up easy, this boy managed to bring out stronger emotions than she was used to. She looked at the stacks of almost brand new looking books. She would never admit it, but she had been dreading using those old worn out texts. She knew she'd be made fun of if she showed up to class with textbooks held together with tape. It didn't bother her that most of her belongings were second hand, but Ron had truly ruined those books. And here was sweet Harry, who had just admitted he had never had anything new himself until he bought these books, was offering them to her. She could tell from the look on his face that he wasn't doing this because he pitied her or felt sorry for her; no, he was giving them to her because he cared.

"I-I can't, Harry. They're yours – you even just told me they were the first new things you've ever had. I can't take that away from you." Her voice was full of emotions.

"Please take them, Gin. It would mean more to see you have them and be able to use them than just having them sit at the bottom of my trunk collecting dust."

"If you're absolutely sure." When he nodded enthusiastically she smiled. "Then I would appreciate them so much. Thank you, Harry!" She waited for him to stand up and gave him a big hug.

"Well let's get these down stairs so you can join me in studying. Not that you have to, of course. I know it's boring, and I'm sure you'd rather fly or do other things. So don't feel like you have to hang out with me or anything." He cursed himself for being so awkward just because she had hugged him.

"I enjoy keeping you company, Harry. Besides, the boys never let me fly with them," she said with a smile as she picked up the large stack, leaving him no option but to pick up the other three books. He knew that she did that on purpose so he wouldn't have to ask her for help, and it meant the world to him.

Harry quickly fell into a routine for the next two weeks. He would get four or five hours of sleep, sometimes waking up to a terrible nightmare. They slowly became less frequent but he never seemed to be able to get more sleep. But that was ok with him; it left him more time to study. In the mornings he would enjoy a cup of coffee and some small talk with Mr. Weasley before he left for work, then breakfast with Mrs. Weasley and Ginny. The latter would usually join him most of the day in the study, reading with him, occasionally asking him to explain his notes or something in the book. He would also ask her questions about the wizarding world as a whole occasionally, when something in his books brought up something new to him.

The twins would stop by and chat with them or hang out for some small talk, but they usually were running around, assumedly up to no good, or creating Merlin knows what in their room, if the small explosions were anything to go. Ron would come and play chess and chat with Harry later in the afternoon after he was done with his punishments. But Ron hated being cooped up in the house so he usually wouldn't stay long before leaving to go fly. Harry thought he would've missed spending more time with his best mate but actually found himself enjoying Ginny's quick wit and smile much more.

The nights were the hardest for him at first. With his inability to sleep much he felt trapped in his room, almost like the walls were closing in on him. In order to ease his mind, he started opening the window and sitting on the window sill in order before he would try to lie down and get what sleep he could. It was one of his first nights while sitting in the sill that he saw something that he knew he'd never forget. It was probably an hour or so after he'd heard the rest of the family go to sleep that he saw a small form approach the shed behind the Burrow. The figure reappeared from the shed after a moment, mounted a broom, and shot off. As the figure climbed into the sky and out of the shadow of the shed, the moonlight finally confirmed the identity that Harry had already knew from her letters. The moonlight cast an almost ethereal glow over her, but Ginny's long red hair was unmistakable. The display she put on was breathtaking; the way she twisted, turned and dived it was almost as if she was one with old broom, like she was born to it. Watching her was a beautiful sight and though he felt almost like he was intruding on something personnel he couldn't help but watch her. While he watched her fly in such an amazing and carefree way he could almost feel her excitement and happiness. Watching her fly in the evenings quickly became one of Harry's favorite parts of staying at the Burrow.

The only other excitement Harry had in those two weeks came about a week after arriving at the Burrow in the form of a letter from Remus Lupin, who had been one of the guardians who Harry should've been sent to live with. The letter helped explain a lot and answered many of the questions that Harry had. He learned that at the time of his parents' death Remus had been away on a mission to help defeat Voldemort, and when he heard of his friends' deaths he withdrew from the Wizarding world having no idea he'd been one of the guardians that his parents had outlined. The two began writing back and forth, getting to know each other. Harry really enjoyed Remus's insights into who his parents had really been. He finally had a real connection to his parents. Between all of the studying, letters to and from Remus, and the late nights of watch Ginny fly, his two weeks of recovery flew by faster than a bludger. Before he knew it, he was pronounced fit as a fiddle by Madam Pomfrey.

He was lying on his bed panting and exhausted from the effort of moving his things up to Bill and Charlie's old Room so Ginny could have hers back, he was disgusted with how weak he was. He had built up some strength the year before from Quidditch practice, but that had been all but robbed from him by his stay at the Dursleys'. It was in that moment that he decided he would never be weak again. He was going to do his best to become stronger both magically and physically, not only so he could defend himself but so he could protect those around him. He would never allow someone to suffer like he had, especially those he cared about. He would do anything for them. He figured until he got a chance to get to Diagon Alley and pick up some books to help him with his goals to improve his magical strength, he would start simple with some physical training. He started the next morning with just a simple easy-paced run to the Quidditch pitch and back a couple of times. After that he did some pushups and crunches like he remembered in P.E. He knew there were probably better ways but it would have to do until he got some books on physical training. He was surprised how much he enjoyed the running. It was a great way to clear his mind, and he actually found it easier to sleep at night since he was so exhausted from his efforts. He got a few questions from the family about his new routine but no one seemed to have any objections, especially since he seemed to be doing better than he had before he started.

After almost a month and a half at the Burrow Harry was the happiest he had ever been. He was enjoying his physical training, had finished studying all of the materials for next year, and made progress though many of the more interesting titles in the library. He was recovering from his traumatic time at the Dursleys' better than he expected. He rarely flinched from loud noises or sudden moves. He was on his way to becoming the Harry he knew he could be and wanted to be. He knew he'd never truly move past it, but he had hope for the future for the first time.

He was looking for a reason to ask Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to allow him to go to Diagon Alley to get some new books. He didn't want to be a burden on them, but he didn't want to wait until it was time to pick up their school supplies. He was ready to get started on a better physical training plan and wanted to start learning more defensive and offensive spells even if he couldn't practice them until he returned to Hogwarts.

A letter from Remus gave him the perfect chance. They had been talking for more than a month now, and Remus had asked if Harry would like to meet him for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. While he was very nervous to meet the man, he was also very excited. One day in the future he might be able to live with this man, the one who his parents had entrusted him to. That thought was both terrifying and exciting. He knew he wasn't ready for that kind of change anytime soon, but maybe in the future, a year or two from now – who knew. At the very least, someday soon if he proved trustworthy, Remus would be able to go with him to Gringotts to unseal his parents' will. The fact that it had been sealed rather than executed confused Harry and made him curious what was in it that would make someone seal it.

The morning of his meeting with Remus Harry had gone from full of excitement to being nervous as hell. This man could potentially be the one who was going to step into Harry's life as a father figure. What if he didn't like Harry? What if he resented being burdened by Harry like the Dursleys? What if he treated him the way the Dursleys did? These thoughts came out of nowhere and hit him like a punch to the gut. He knew it was irrational – he had no intention of changing his living arrangements any time soon, but he couldn't help the panic rising in his chest. Harry slumped own on the stairs, hyperventilating, halfway to his room after his workout. He was having a panic attack, the first in a while, but he could tell it was going to be worse than any he could remember. His vision became blurry and started tunneling in, and flashes of the beatings came rushing through his mind. He felt his body began to shake. He heard someone who sounded very far away call his name and then again with a voice filled with fear. He felt hands wrap around him and he shrank away expecting the beatings that were playing in his mind to begin again for real. But this embrace was something he'd only felt a few times – it was warm and soft, and then the scent of flowers and a spring breeze softly surrounded him. His brain recognized that scent and he latched onto it, focusing on it, trying to remember it. The images of beatings slowed as his fuzzy mind tried to place that scent. It took his brain a while to place it – it was Ginny. Sweet kind Ginny. She smelled like that, the girl who had done so much for him, who had always been there for him.

He held on to the thought of her and focused on that, and gradually the raging sea of emotions and thoughts that filled his head slowed. He held to the rock that was the thought of Ginny. As his breathing calmed, he slowly opened his eye to a sea of red. He could see light filtering through a curtain of deep rich red. The light cast golden highlights through her hair. He realized Ginny was holding him as tight as she could, as if she let go he would slip away. His head was next to her neck and her hair had fallen around both of them almost like a curtain shutting out the outside world.

"Your hair is pretty. When the sun hits it, it has golden highlights, you know?"

He felt her tense for a second, and he worried that he'd freaked her out. He hadn't meant to say it out loud - it'd just slipped out.

"I find you curled up on the stairs shaking, gasping for breath and about to tumble down two flights, and all you can say is I have pretty hair?" She tried scolding him but he could hear the warmth and smile in her voice.

"I'm sorry I made you worry, again. Thanks, Gin," he responded lamely.

She gave an exasperated sigh. "How many bloody times do I have to tell you that I'm always going to be here for you Potter?"

"Twenty-three?" He stiffened suddenly as he realized that she was holding him close and he'd just finished out his work out. He stunk to high heaven, and she hadn't even cared, she'd just done everything she could to comfort him.

"Oh, God, Gin, I probably stink like dragon dung," he told her as he slowly went to sit up.

She let him pull away knowing that he was uncomfortable with closeness and signs of affection. "Have you met my brothers, Harry? I'm used to smelly boys," she playfully informed him. He just looked away awkwardly. "Well, go take your shower, then meet me in my room. I'll bring us up some breakfast, and you're going to tell me what happened."

Harry got a panicked look in his eyes, not wanting to expose his weakness to her, and began to protest, but before he could get a word out she pushed on. "I'm pretty sure I have an idea about it already, Harry, but you need to talk about it before you go see Remus today, ok? You don't have to talk about everything – I know you're not ready for that yet, but you have to be able to talk to him today without having a panic attack."

It amazed Harry as to how perceptive she was, and it comforted him that she wouldn't press him for everything, at least right now, and deep down he knew she was right. Was she always right?

"Ok, you're right."

"Oh, I know I am, Potter, and you better get used to it." She gave him a teasing smile and one last squeeze of his hand that he hadn't realized she was still holding and then skipped down the stairs. His hand suddenly felt cold as the last of the light reflected golden off of her hair and she disappeared around the corner.

A/N: As I said at the beginning of this chapter i'm going to start posting responses to some of your awesome reviews so keep them coming!

Redneckgearhead; First off I love the username! Secondly I know a lot of people have issues with how far I took the abuse but I promise it was for a reason that will become more apparent later on, and I have every intention of finishing this!

Supersandman86; As for what Arthur did to the Dursley's I was struggling to come up the exact details so I decided to leave it up to my wonderful readers imaginations! I'm not planning on it being a Dumbledore and Ron bashing story there will be disagreements and conflicts but I think I have a good plan for how to handle those in a constructive and reasonable manner. And Just between us there are two different characters that will have more important and large conflicts later on.

Midnitewanderer; I'm glad you're enjoying it so much! I'm still planning on having Hogwarts last seven years, so they will be graduating at 20. I view the first four years kind of like Highschool and the last three years at Hogwarts more like getting an associates degree in college preparing them for whatever additional training/schooling they'll need for their chosen career.

Tonirae; I'm glad you're liking it even though it's not cannon just a fair warning it's going to get more AU from here but I really hope you'll stick it out. And thank you for understanding how and why i'm showing him struggling with his abuse the way I am. In this chapter I tried to show the beginning of his healing process and Ginny's vital role in it. Let me know if you have any advice on how to show it better, and thanks for the kind words on my writing it's something i'm working hard on improving.

Stormfly1124 and mbell185; Thank you for the well wishes!